Starspawn
by starspawn07
Summary: Spawn sets free a powerful entity. may be continued but very unlikely. suggestions are welcome.


**StarSpawn**

By Starspawn07

Disclaimers:

As with all my fanfics, the following story is not completely in accord with cannon.

I do not own any of the characters or plot devices mentioned.

Credits to:

Todd McFarlane & co. who created _Spawn_.

The late Howard Phillips Lovecraft, author of _The Call of Cthulhu_.

-

**The Rising**

A flash of lightning in the distance once again alerted him to the impending storm. Thick, grey clouds had blanketed the whole sky. Whatever light that shone through the occasional gaps between them dimmed by the minute.

Yet he refused to move from his deck chair. This moment was precious. For once in his life, he could forget everything and enjoy some true scenery. _Screw the angels, to hell with the demons. They have nothing to do with me. _

As the strong cool wind washed over him, he breathed deep and took in the breathtaking sight before him.

The sea was starting to churn. Dark frothy waves rushed up the beach line and gradually collapsed, splashing harmlessly at his feet, as if beckoning him towards the depths, but always failing to reach him.

Another flash of lightning, this one in the sky just above him, and it began to pour. Finally deciding it was time to head for shelter, he jumped from his chair and ran up the beach towards the large attap hut visible through the thick of the rain.

Dashing through the wide open door, he took off his batik- patterned shirt and ruffled his wet hair, expecting to hear the voice of a woman chuckling at his predicament.

Silence.

"Siti ?"

It was then that he realized how dark the room was now. Weird. In this kind of weather, Siti usually liked to turn on the lights. And he could not imagine why she would leave the house right now.

"Now that's a beautiful name, isn't it ?" A deep voice.

With a start, he looked around the room.

"I am right here, Al." A very deep, familiar voice

In the centre of the room was an old wooden table. Looking over it, in the far corner of the room, Al could see the tall imposing figure of a suave, middle-aged man dressed in a dark suit. It stared at him with a pair of lime-green glowing eyes.

"YOU ! - " For a moment the same lime-green glow flashed in Al's eyes as he recalled who this unwanted visitor was, and all the misery that the latter had caused him in the past.

"You think that by traveling to the tropics you can escape from me. Fool, I did tell you that I would never, ever let you slip from my grasp, didn't I ?" The figure stepped forward from the shadows. The dim blue-grey light from the windows revealed a sinister sneer on his face. "Now, for your disobedience – "

"Where's Siti ? What have you done with her ?" Al tensed and narrowed his eyes.

"Right, concern." Now the sneer turned into a wicked grin. "You see, in this region, there is a demon called the pontianak. A little display of … power … was all it took to convince her to do my bidding."

A series of inhuman groans from under the table sent chills down Al's spine. He froze as he saw a withered hand with long talons reach up and grab the edge of the opposite of the table. Slowly, a figure with long, disheveled hair and wearing a flowing white gown stood up with its side facing him.

The figure turned its head to face him, and a flash of lightning outside lit up the room for a few milliseconds.

Al gasped in horror. "Siti … "

Her eyes were rolled up, and her jaw hung loose. A faint gurgling sound escaped from her throat. Here and there black scratches and sores dotted her otherwise smooth, dark skin.

The next moment, she pulled back her lips, baring long sharp fangs, and let out an ear-piercing screech, which had Al bending over in pain and terror.

"You see, Spawn, I have made it a point to take away any new … acquaintances … you make. You will never find the solace you seek ! "

"SHUT UP !" Al's flesh began to slowly melt away, replaced by a sickly green substance. A black shadow spread over him, covering him entirely except for his glowing green eyes. Barbaric spikes protruded from his shoulders, knuckles, knees …

He heard a few loud thuds on the table in front of him, and felt a stabbing pain as long claws were thrust into his neck and chest, pushing him backwards with such force that he was thrown out through the door.

The constant shower of rainwater splashing down on him obscured his vision and made movement difficult. He struggled both to get up in the wet sand, and also to get a clear glimpse of the creature that was now upon him.

"Struggle, as you always have." The deep, sinister voice rang loudly despite the noise of the rain. "But the more you do, the more suffering I shall heap upon you, until you realize the futility of resistance."

Al felt the clawed hand on his neck tightening its grip, as if trying to rip his throat out. Instinctively, he tried to dislodge it with his own hand, while reaching up with the other hand to strangle …

Nothing.

Then, he started as Siti's disfigured visage appeared up close to his own. Only her eyes, actually. He screamed in pain as he felt his possessed friend bite down on his neck, drawing a spray of lime green necroplasm where she sank her fangs through his undead skin.

"What are you waiting for ? Kill her ! Or do you want her to bite off your head ? Would you really die for your friend ?" The deep voice sounded again and again, prodding him on to do what he did not wish to do, driving him to the brink of insanity.

Looking beyond Siti's shoulder, Al could make out the hateful figure of the man in the dark suit, it's eyes glowing bright green with excitement. It slowly approached him.

"I know what you are thinking. You want to end this all. Let me help you !"

A ball of green flame coalesced in the figure's hand, which was slowly raised above Siti's head.

Al realized what was going to happen, and the next few seconds seemed like an eternity as he tried to shove Siti out of the way. The fact that the latter was trying stubbornly to tear his head off added to the agony. He cursed and shouted but his voice was drowned out by the rain.

Then there was a deafening clap of thunder, and a huge wave came down upon him.

…

Al did not know how long he had been floating unconscious in the sea. When he woke up, the sky was still darkened by thick clouds. It was unbearably cold, and he wondered how far south or north he had drifted.

At least, he was no longer drifting now. He felt his back being pressed against a hard surface. He was lying on a rock, he realized. He sat up and looked around. There were rocks everywhere. Large rocks.

No, large, cyclopean rocks.

Huge blocks of stone the size of whole buildings were strewn about as far as out in the landscape as the eye could see. Some were piled up and fitted into gigantic walls, columns, even doorways. An air of foreboding hung about them, and Al found himself drawn to these structures.

He got up and immediately walked towards one wall, not even bothering to shift back to his human appearance.

…

From atop a cliff, Mammon watched the rebellious Hellspawn stagger his way among

the enormous ruins, like an insect crawling in the grounds of Stonehenge. The demon lord smiled at the irony.

He surveyed the landscape, and marveled at the sheer scale of the ruins. The latter could dwarf any angelic palace or demonic temple that he had seen. Even the Forgotten One could not fathom how any entity in the universe could achieve such an outrageous feat of construction.

Yet for all its prowess, that entity was probably long gone now, leaving nothing here but a deathly silence.

What a suitable place to make the final decision. Here, Spawn must either submit to him, or cease to exist.

…

Al stared up in disbelief. From a distance, the wall appeared smooth, but now, he could make out faint reliefs carved into the surface of the stone. The occasional thick layer of vegetation made them harder to notice, but they were impressive. The images of various unearthly creatures – men that looked like fishes, gigantic octopi, amorphous blobs with many eyes and mouths, ran the entire upper sections of the wall, like the grand pieces of some enormous ancient art gallery.

Al reached out to touch one of the monstrous figures.

"You are near …"

Al started. That voice resounded in his head. It was like a whisper, yet Al heard the words so clearly.

"Come …" It sounded old, dead yet strangely vigorous.

He did not know why, but despite the sense of dread that now flooded his mind, he felt the urge to search for the source of that telepathic message. If only he knew where to look.

" … Here"

Like a zombie being summoned forth by a necromancer, Al felt his legs turn and carry him off away from the wall of their own accord. His sense of reason told him to stop, but his body would not listen.

Trying to make sense of what was going on was maddening, and after a while Al decided to stop resisting at all and let curiosity and the strange whispering entity take over.

…

Keeping himself hidden, Mammon followed Spawn's movement across the rocky landscape, amused that even here the Hellspawn retained a sense of direction.

Just then, he saw Spawn disappear down the mouth of an enormous cave.

The Forgotten One frowned. What was Al Simmons up to ?

A thin green mist drifted out from within the cave.

For once, Mammon felt disturbed, but he could not tell why.

…

"Lift the sign… Break the seal."

Al stood before the stone pedestral and raised a brow, incredulous.

He had expected something in the lines of a grand underground tomb laden with treasure, or more of the cyclopean ruins.

But within this cave, which extended far into the darkness, space enough for a city , there was nothing but a huge, black lake, illuminated by an eerie green glow from far below its surface.

His hand reached out to grab the stone tablet in the centre of the pedestral, no doubt under that alien influence again.

The tablet had what appeared to be the image of a star framing a five-branched fern etched onto it.

Without warning Al's hand was raised up and smashed the tablet against the pedestral, splitting it into pieces with a crack that echoed across the cave.

"Well done …"

Al watched in awe and astonishment as the lake began to boil. The green glow intensified, and its centre suddenly bulged up, a dark, gargantuan shape larger than any submarine or whale emerging from beneath its surface, resulting in a huge tidal wave that expanded out towards the sides of the lake.

Al braced himself as the wall of water ran over him, smashing him off his feet.

"At last … I am free !"

Al looked up, sputtering, and gaped at the most horrific sight he had ever witnessed.

At the centre of the lake, was what appeared to be a gigantic octopus with dark green-brown skin. Gigantic was an understatement. This monster was larger than a whale, and its huge form seemed to extend far below the surface, as Al could tell from what remained of the green glow beneath the lake. The 'octopus' was just a head, he realized.

Bands of iridescent colours – purple, green, orange etc - flowed over the gently pulsating body of the creature, and its tentacles writhed like overgrown sea serpents. One of them snaked its way towards the little humanoid figure standing at the edge of the lake.

A large bellowing red cape unfurled behind Spawn's back and flowed over his right arm. Then they drew back to reveal a large battle axe firmly clasped in his hand.

As if anticipating a hostile reaction from the hellspawn, the tentacle stopped and sank beneath the surface of the lake.

"No need to feel threatened. I was just curious, little one."

A pair of large, golden, slit-like eyes with a ghastly green glow in them stared down at the hellspawn. The latter dropped his battle axe and froze. This being before him radiated an aura that instilled an unnamable, overwhelming fear in all who looked upon it and its presence would have driven any mortal mad.

"What are you ?" Al stammered.

Silence for a moment. The bands of iridescence shifted.

"I came to this world hundreds of millions of years ago … to escape a calamity on my own world. Here I fought with the primordial inhabitants of this world. Try as they might they could not destroy me."

The iridescence increased in brilliance. Al took this to be an expression of pride.

Then the creature's eyes narrowed. "Yet somehow, they found a way to knock me unconscious, and put me to sleep. That tablet you shattered, contained a powerful magical formula that prevented the intervention of my own kin. Thus I reached out with my mind …"

At this the creature paused for a while.

"I watched the war between Heaven and Hell, as well as all the conflicts among the mortals, through the millenia. I did not intervene. My main concern was finding any entity who could help set me free, but none was worthy, angel, demon or mortal …"

The creature heaved and splashed the tips of its tentacles in contempt.

"And then you came along … Spawn. The One. The hero of Armageddon. Beyond good and evil. Harbinger of chaos…"

"I just want to live in peace." Al blurted out, then cringed for fear that he might have crossed the Old One.

"Ah, but to achieve that you must destroy the one enemy that has given you hell for all your life, is it not ?" The creature slowly drifted towards him.

Al lowered his gaze. Images of past traumatic events flashed through his mind. He settled into a deep trance, unaware of the thick tentacles curling around him.

" Come …"

The creature surrounded Al in coil after coil of its serpentine appendages.

"Kneel, hellspawn …"

Bands of bright iridescent green flowed from the creature through its tentacles to where they were wrapped around the hellspawn, and a bright green glow emanated from within.

"And arise … starspawn of Cthulhu !"

…

That's all for now.

I'll be quite busy, but I'll try to update whenever inspiration comes.

Comments and suggestions will be appreciated.

Thank you, and have a nice day.

- Starspawn07


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